Leather interior opinion

There are two basic approaches.

1. Leather that replaces the stock upholstery. You take off the old upholstery and then install the leather upholstery. This is the premium way to go andif you pick the right upholstery kit and if you install it right it can look better than the factory leather, but remember, if is a big word.

You should have some experience changing out upholstery, or be very a very handy doityourselfer before installing leather upholstery on your own.

I did it and like the results but would gladly pay a pro over $300 to install it if I were to do another Prius.

2. Leather seat covers. These are leather seat covers that go over the stock upholstery. There are much easier to install and I would call them a medium effort do ityourself job. The Clazzios I have seen done on the forum look good. Not as pro as the complete recover, but still darn good.

If you search the forum you can find info on both. The most common ones here are Katzkin for the full replacement upholstery and Clazzio for seat covers.

 

If I were you, I would get none of those for now. I would look for Clazzio seat covers, and #1 and #3 did not specify what brand they were.

Katzkin installation is NOT easy and requires certain sewing skills, but it does look the best in the end.

 

I generally agree with your caution and recommendation to use Clazzio. A person who should be installing Katzkin probably wouldn't be asking on a forum.

Katzkin isn't easy like you say:rockon:, but it doesn't require any sewing on GenIII. I've done installed it on mine.

It's a lot of work and requires some good judgement on tugging things into place. They are many opportunities to screw up expensive interior parts while installing it too.

 

That sounds even worse than sewing.

 

It is not easy to remove the OEM fabric from seats (I've stripped Toyota seats to bare frames before).

Some of the trim pieces have claws that are quite difficult to release. The fabric is secured into channels in the seat foam using hog rings. When removing the front seatback foam, it will expose the airbag which btw, has explosive material in it.

I also know the 'Toyota' price for seat fabrics. The driver's seat bottom fabric, that singular piece would cost about $300 from Toyota. It's a huge markup. If you have this done, don't even think about letting them keep your OEM fabric.

I'm more than fine with the OEM fabric in mine. Rule is - no eating while driving and no drinks that might spill all over. If I could throw the seats in a washing machine, it would be different, but that's impossible, so I eat and drink when stopped.

Get leather, then it's cold in Winter and sometimes hot in Summer. I'll pass.

People say the fabric seats are not comfortable. Huh? They're really good for a midsize Japanese car. For BMW, no, but good Toyota seats.

 

I'm sure there's a special tool for the headrest supports, but I employed a spark plug puller tool. I was able to release one of the headrest supports without breaking the claws, but on the other, a claw got a little tweaked. Tough to reach up into the seatback the remove them. But they have to be removed or can't get seatback off. I Don't think the pieces are expensive and I'm sure Toyota sells them seperately, but still a pain to replace.